Tom Coghlan
Two brothers serving with The Rifles in Afghanistan have been flown home after their brother was killed in action on Saturday, only two weeks before they were all due to return to Britain.
The Holkham brothers — Matthew, 20, Daniel, 19 and Andrew, 18 — all joined the Army to serve as riflemen with 3 Rifles and were posted to Sangin in September. Rifleman Daniel Holkham was killed when, as the lead man in his patrol, he stopped a suicide bomber who was trying to enter the main bazaar in Sangin.
The man detonated a device strapped to his body.
As the platoon’s “Vallon Man”, Rifleman Daniel Holkham was entrusted with walking ahead of those on patrol, sweeping for bombs with a Vallon metal detector.
His commanding officer Colonel Nick Kitson said: “Rifleman Holkham was well established as the lead man in his patrol, responsible for searching the ground for buried explosive devices to allow his patrol to pass safely.
“He died at the head of his patrol, another unquestioningly courageous rifleman intercepting a crazed suicide bomber before he could cause havoc in the Sangin bazaar.” His death took to 29 the number of fatalities suffered by the 3 Rifles Battle group in Sangin since September, the highest losses suffered by any British unit in Afghanistan.
It is understood that more than 100 members of the Battle group have been injured since September.
Rifleman Holkham’s death occurred a day after the death of Lance Corporal of Horse Jonathan Woodgate, 26, from the Household Cavalry who was killed in Sangin when a grenade was thrown at his patrol. Lance Corporal Woodgate was on his last patrol before his unit returned to Britain.
Rifleman Holkham’s older brother Matthew, who was with the Reconnaissance Platoon in Sangin, was interviewed by the Press Association in January, when he described the three brothers as “like best mates”.
Given the particularly dangerous nature of Daniel’s job, Matthew admitted that he worried for his brother’s safety, especially when he knew that he was out on patrol and there was the sound of an explosion.
“It is horrible but you just get on with it,” he said, adding that it was also a good thing to have family close by.
Asked about how his parents were coping with having three sons in Afghanistan at the same time, he said: “Mum finds it hard but she puts on a brave face.
“Obviously they are your parents so they are worried, but they are happy that we are happy”.
In January Rodney and Tracy Holkham, the parents, spoke to theSheerness Times Guardian about their pride at having three sons serving together in the Army.
Mr Holkham admitted that the family felt conflicting emotions when they read about casualties.
“You feel relief and guilt when you hear that next-of-kin have been informed. It is not easy. I cannot imagine what it is like to have that knock on the door”.
The family, who come from the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, issued a statement after Rifleman Holkham’s death was announced.
“The loss of our son Danny has left a huge hole in our lives and that of his brothers and friends that can never again be filled. He served his country faithfully and with great pride”.
The Times understands that his brothers will not go back to Helmand province before 3 Rifles return home.
Times Online
